- Popular Post
-
Posts
18 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Content Type
Forums
Articles
FAQs
Online Manual
Support: Blocks
Support: Games
Bug Tracker
SIGames Manual (beta)
Profiles
Posts posted by Wrap God
-
-
Hello!
I've been observing an interesting behaviour of fullbacks in some real-life teams recently (it might not be new, but I've just noticed it). I was watching the last Man United games in the Premier League (let's put the quality of performance aside) this season and something about how Erik ten Hag sets up his fullbacks caught my eye.
[Sorry I don't have any visual examples]
- When in early build-up phase, with ball being in the possession of the GK or defenders, fullbacks tend to stay narrow, but not fully inverted into midfield
- When the ball progresses into the middle third of the pitch and further, one of the fullbacks inverts into the midfield, while the other one makes a forward run. Usually that run is overlapping in nature, as the winger comes narrow close to the penalty box. However, there have been some underlapping runs hapenning as well, with Antony staying wider and AWB making a run into the box.
- This happens alternatively. What I mean by that, is that when one full back goes forward, the other tucks in to the midfield to form a slightly tilted double pivot with Casemiro.
Putting the effectiveness of this behaviour aside, I really want to recreate this coordinated movement in FM23.
The question is: is it doable?
When using FB, even with the 'Stay narrow' PI they are not coming into midfield as I would want them to. The same goes for WB who are just more eager to dribble with the ball and their initial positioning is more advanced than that of a FB.
When using IWB (Su or De, didn't try At) on either side they tend to always stay narrow and tuck into the midfield next to the DM. They do sometimes, overlap if the team is instructed to do so, but most of the time in possession they both sit in midfield.
I know from watching some tactic experts like Bust the Net, that Complete Wingbacks will do both overlapping and underlapping runs, as they roam from position. However, this role has the 'Stay wider' instruction selected as default and they never come narrow into midfield.
So, is there a way to instruct my fullbacks to alternate in behaviour as I initially described?
I will try to capture some examples from FM23 later today.
Thank you in advance!
0 -
On 17/11/2022 at 05:11, deorvd said:
How's your tactic now?
Yours is pretty similar to my tactic with Inter Milan. They have no real wingers or IF that's forcing me to play with back 3. The only difference is that both CDR and CDL have CD roles with stay wider. I just don't want them going forward especially with fast counter when Volante advancing forward.
I feel like I can never fill the gap between DMs and AMC (currently giving up on Volante-DLP def and APs). Volante will go forward but most of time the ball will never reach AMC and send the long balls to STs instead or overlapping WBs Attack (mainly left WB). I do have serious problems with scoring in open play, but get some goals from set pieces to cover it.
I haven't touched the save since Monday. Currently playing first leg against Liverpool at Anfield and they really hit hard. I concede lots of goals both from through balls and IFs cutting inside and feel like I can't stop them. It's frustrating that I can't get this tactic work
It wasn't bad, but not great either. I got promoted from 2 Bundesliga and have become a punching bag destined for relegation. Really hard to say how the tactic performs this way, especially that I dropped to mid/low block depending on opposition.
I know that even before promotion I had games where I couldn't create any chances, producing only 3-5 shots the entire game (!).I'm frustrated because I don't know what the game expects me to do. Only from reading the forums I was able to deduce that in some formations the midfield pivot should be in the DM strata. The game doesn't explain where to position the midfield and doesn't provide any valuable feedback. My team of analysts can just produce charts, there is no one in the club that can come to me and say: "Hey boss, have you seen this gap between midfield and attack? Maybe you should adapt roles to close it, or switch from DMs to CMs".
Even this thread here. No one has provided a clear answer, only "just try", while I'm looking at the game going "what the hell am I supposed to do?". I don't want to waste ~30h playing through a season trying to tell where my midfield should be positioned.
I've put this save on pause for some time. I don't know but I have real issues diagnosing problems with my tactics this year. Players just behave erratically in general on the pitch, I can win a game 5-0 only to get 10 shots combined from the next three games.
0 -
50 minutes ago, 04texag said:
likely change the dlp to def duty as well
This got me thinking - would switching the DLP to Defend while keeping him in the DM slot open up the possibility of switching right WCB to Support? I've never used other duties than Defend on WCB so not sure if it would work.
0 -
Just now, Johnny Ace said:
Came in to say this, I think both WBs on Attack is potentially a problem. As you can see on the pass map, they are getting high up that pitch
For both WBs on Attack, I'd dumb down the Volante to a Defensive Midfielder or try the left hand Wingback on Support
Next thing I'd try is removing the extra width, it's probably not needed on a Positive mentality plus Wingbacks
I appreciate the feedback!
I'm rather keen on keeping both Wingbacks on Attacks since it's kind of the cornerstone of my tactical approach - get those wingbacks high and wide to stretch the play, pulling opposition players to open gaps in midfield, while having the Wide Center Backs provideing occasional crosses from deep halfspaces.
I'll keep the pivot in the DM strata for now and change Volante to DM(Su). I will also switch SS to AM(At) as I'm not happy with how SS behaves in the ME.
1 -
9 minutes ago, Aandy said:
Yes I'd say that the second tactic with CMs would definitely offer more going forwards because whilst the segundo volente/dlp combo is probably as close as you'll get to the real-life double-pivot, you don't really have anybody anywhere near them in midfield. You've got an SS in the AM role and their main focus will be to get in to goalscoring positions. You've also got the SS and AF who I would suspect are both trying to do the same thing and perhaps getting in each other's way? The DLF there is a good compromise but they'll not drop back deep enough to fit that gap. So you've essentially got no central penetration; your entire attacking outlet is via the wings and unless you're playing with a big mean brute of a target man you probably won't get too many chances as the opposition will quickly figure you out and restrict your wing play. Looking at your shape I would assume you are playing for counter attacks, yet your instructions to play out from defence would slow down your chances of those lightning quick breaks.
Moving the defensive midfielders to CM, and with a box to box, really opens up your central penetration as they will drive forward and occupy the space left by your SS whilst they are concentrating of getting into goalscoring positions.
I'm by no means a tactical expert. I would keep the 2nd tactic, but change the SS to an AM on attack, perhaps even an AP. I wouldn't worry too much about having two playmakers, they should be far enough apart that they wouldn't get in each other's way, in fact they could complement each other quite well with the DLP dictating play from deep and the AP picking that final killer ball. Thinking about it, the BBM might not even be too necessary in this set up. The role of the BBM is to offer a bit of everything; getting back to defend and contributing to the attack, but with a DLP who will naturally sit deep and 3 central defenders I think you've got a lot of bodies back there. Perhaps consider changing the BBM to a CM on support; that way they'll be a bit more positionally disciplined and more of a link between the DLP and your AM.
I want to set up for quick attacks, but not just boot it up the field, hence only slightly higher tempo. So yes, counter attacks should be one of the weapons in my arsenal, but I've added the 'Play out of the defence' instruction as my defenders were often booting it up the field despite having passing options open in front of them.
I was initially worried about the SS as well, but from pass maps and watching the game, he often drops deep and weirdly is not involved that much. I have decent players in this position, with no traits.
Here SS is hidden behind RCM.
0 -
Hello!
I have a problem settling on a double pivot setup in a back three system.
I've been playing since the latest version since the Beta, and was following tactical discussions since it released - it looks like SI has changed the way the midfield pivot should (or is) setup in the match engine.
For example the classic, default 4-2-3-1 now has central midfielders in the DM strata - this has been explained as better representing how teams play in real life.
My question now is: how does it apply to back three systems?
I have a rather successful system in my save with St. Pauli, but I'm too tactically inept to determine whether my midfielders should play in the CM or DM strata.
This is my main tactic:
(disregard the tactic name, it evolved :))I've hit a slump in form and couldn't create more than 3-4 chances per game in 5 games in a row, which of course got me tinkering with tactics. Very first game after pushing midfielders to CM slots got me winning 7-0, thinking I cracked the secret, only to go on to fail to score in next 3 consecutive games.
So which one is the "better" setup?
I'm too tactically 'dumb' to analyze and draw conclusions..0 -
I've made a post with an update earlier today but it got purged during the technical maintenance
Ok so - middle of the season update.
I'm so, so happy
First of all - @DarJI did heed your advice and changed two things: DM role from Defend to Support, and tuned down pressing to only 'More Often'. I added OI's to press wide players while simulatenously marking central midfielders.
I'm managing NAC Breda and it's year 2026. We are predicted to finish 6th in the Eredivise.
My only player in the Media Dream Eleven was my starting CB.This is the tactic I went into the season with:
SpoilerThe only PI's is for the right Fullback to stay wider.
Here is the table halfway through the season:
SpoilerAs it stands we are unbeaten - I really couldn't ask for more
Looking at the league stats:
My team scored the most goals:
We average 56% possession:
With a very decent pass completion ratio of 91% (I don't really have good passers yet):
Looking at the Data Hub:
Passing graph:
SpoilerTeam Attacking:
SpoilerTeam Defending:
SpoilerSo it seems that I'm overperforming in both attack and defence, let's see if my team crashes in the second half of the season. Especially that now in January half of the world wants to poach my key players
It's good to see my team is not dribbling that much and tackling - I'm keeping the ball and progressing up the field with passes and not by players carrying the ball.
Here are my results so far:
Some general reflections:
- Wide Playmaker has na average rating of 7.00 in 14 league games. He often is not the player that makes the assits, but plays the pre-assist pass.
- Player with most assists - 7 is my starting Segundo Volante. He's the one that often receives the ball from WP right in front of the box to play a through ball to a striker.
- The Pressing Forward on Attack has the most goals (16). Other sources of goals are: PF(Su): 6, backup striker: 6, Wide Midfielder: 5, backup WM: 5 (I rotate quite a bit)
- We do play the occasional ball over the top bypassing the midfield, but I feel it is always well timed and has lead to goal more often than not. It's nice to see a switch to our usual passing strategy to mix it up a bit.
- What worries me a bit are sequences of 7-10 passes between my CB's and DM's, even if there are open FB's or wingers. But I've noticed this happening a lot in FM22 when playing out from the back, not only to me.
- I'm in love with the Wide Midfielder on Attack. He plays as some sort of an aggressive box-to-box winger. He tracks back regularly to help win possesion, while in attack behaves almost like a Shadow Striker. I play right footed players on the left in that role. Fantastic performances even if I had to play there someone not familiar with the role. I suspect this is highly dependent on work rate, as my wingers have decent Teamwork, Work Rate and Stamina
-
I'm not a great tactical tinkerer, so I've been only messing with the mentality for the most part. Against bigger opposition, like Ajax, I set the mentality to Balanced and sometimes take off Play out from the back if the opposition is pressing high
Against much weaker sides or when chasing a goal I set the mentality to Attacking and if my team is not creating high quality chances I add WBIB. That's all the tweaking I did this season.
I very much appreciate your help, I've been stuck in a loop trying to figure out this system and even though the changes weren't that big, I'm afraid I would not get where I am without asking for advice. Kudos!
If you are interested in a post-season update, let me know
5 -
Another update.
I took some of your advice into consideration @Sheyner21 - thank you!
After doing a full pre-season with this tactic I've made some additional tweaks.
I've noticed on post-match analysis' from the pre-season friendlies that there is often a huge gap between the left and right sides of my team, right in the middle:
I first tried to fix it by setting the width to minimal, but it resulted in the middle being over-congested and players running into each other.
So, the next step was to try leaving the width as 'Fairly Narrow' and adding 'Focus play through the middle'. This sounded counter-intuitive to me at first, since I play with a Wide Playmaker, but it made a huge difference. I'm now able to control the middle much more efficiently:
And this is the tactic I'm starting the season with:
Additional notes:
- Right Fullback has been told to Stay Wider
- Wide Midfielder on the left is right-footed, but no specific PI's were given
3 -
I made some tweaks and watched an entire game on comprehensive highlights.
Here is how the tactic looked like going into the game:
FB(At) has been told to stay wider, since I noticed him often occupying the same space as WP. I might try changing that role to WB on Attack.
We won 4-3.
My team was not a clear favourite before the game, but we played at home.Goals conceded were:
- Overlaping run and cross from the side of my WP, where all 3 of my WP, FB and DM failed to track properly or cover
- An error from my center back when playing out from the back - he passed it directly into the foot of opposition's PF who then ran past him and scored
-
Through ball where my Segundo Volante failed to track a runner from deep, even though he was told to man mark him - I was fuming
So the same defensive issues persist even though I'm playing more compact. For the next game I'll drop the defensive line.
The thing is however, that besides these three goals the opponents didn't have other clear cut chances... so I guess it might just be my players switching off. Hard to tell.
The goals we scored however were pretty good: 2 cutbacks, and 2 beautiful crosses from WP to IW. There was a lot of movement in and around the box. When PF(Su) dropped deep, IW and/or PF(A) were timing runs into the box. Segundo Volante was making runs into the box as well, but very late, after we "camped" their box for a while - this is exactly what I want for him.
EDIT:
I decided to get rid of the Shadow Striker and move him up to a Pressing Forward as he was absolutely anonymous in most of the games. Almost 0 impact on games with ratings of 6.6 week-in, week-out.
I have forwards with decent workrate, anticipation and bravery so this combinations seems to suit my team.0 -
I appreciate your suggestion.
I admit I might have forced the RPM onto myself unnecessarily...but I just love that role so much
Will try changing him into a Segundo Volante on Support and see how it performs.
I opted for WBIB since I wanted to reduce the number of long passes, but you might be right - I didn't think about it as stiffling attacks.
1 -
Hello everyone,
For the past couple of weeks I've been attempting to build a system with Wide Playmaker being the main creative force in the team.
The idea for this system was heavily inspired by kr10's Modern 442 from FM20 which I loved and tried to somewhat emulate on FM22 with some of my own ideas injected into it.
Some of my tactical assumptions / requirements before I went into tactic building:
- WP(Su) on the right should be the main creator
- Use of an overlaping fullback on the playmaker's side
- Rather patient, passing oriented attacks with players exchanging short passes and moving around the final third to cause confusion (Pass & Move)
- If possible, squeeze in a Roaming Playmaker and Shadow Striker into the system (I just really like these roles)
There are also some questions I've been asking myself and struggled to find answers to:
-
How do I want to defend?
Low block seems like a no-go since it suits counter attacking teams more, and I would probably face issues with transitioning from defence to attack. No idea if I should mark tighter or force opposition either outside or inside (I've been playing this game for 14 years and still haven't figured out when I should use Tight Marking TI). -
What do I want to happen on the left flank?
I tried all combinations of Wide Midfielder/Winger + Fullback, Inverted Winger + Wingback on different duties and I still have no clue what I want to happen there. Classic Winger seems to direct. I did quite like Wide Midfielder on Attack with a Wingback on Defend behind him. -
What should the midfield pivot look like?
All I know is I need someone that provides space for WP to move into and covers for overlaping fullback. For him a partner that covers a lot of ground and supports attacks, takes over some playmaking duties if WP is struggling.
So here is what I have right now:
SpoilerIt's...not great. I often struggle to score goals and I concede a lot. Clean sheets are a very rare sights with better teams being able to put 3 goals into the net with relative ease. Assists in conceded goals come from all directions almost evenly: through balls and crosses.
I originally had the midfield pivot in the CM slots, but considering defensive issues I shifted them back a notch - didn't really help and hindered my goalscoaring ability even further.As of now I probably tested about 30 different iterations of this tactic, used all possible Out of Possession combinations besides Lower defensive line. I've been using a special testing database and ideal (but still realistic) players for each position. I also did a couple of seasons in Dutch and Portuguese leagues
I'm asking for help since I've been slowly descending into madness trying to figure our why it's so underwhelming.
The only role I'm really hell-bent on keeping is the Wide Playmaker.0 -
@Jack722 The problem with lower mentalities (as discussed SO many times on this forum) is that it keeps your player playing very safe. Your players will refrain from taking risks and bombing forward and will prefer to recycle the ball. Hence all the problems with AI having often more than 50% possession when playing away from home.
Higher team mentality encourages the players to take more risk in possession and attempt risky passes, carry the ball forward etc.
If you watch football in real life that's exactly how counter attacking teams play - patient and compact without the ball, but if they win the ball back they transition immediately without passing the ball around in defensive third. They look to progress the ball as quickly as possible forward - and that's what higher mentalities in FM do.
I would say it is more a flaw of how Mnetalities are described/work in FM.
Cautious is suited to possession football more than quick counters as it tells your players to take time and do not take on unnecesary risks.
1 -
If I understand correctly you need a role that will stay in the box to always be ready to get at the end of crosses, through balls and score tap-ins. I would personally go with Poacher or Target Forward on Attack with a lot of support duties behind him that will feed him the balls.
For Poacher I would try to 'Work ball into box' to keep other players from taking low xG shots.
For TF(A) I may opt for 'Hit Early Crosses' to encourage more balls being fed to him (if I'm playing through the wings).
Of course other roles like Advanced Forward and Pressing Forward on Attack should work too, but if you are lookinh for a fox-in-the-box kind of role then Poacher is the one. He is not moving into channels, so will stay in the box and...poach.
0 -
18 minutes ago, Harpoon76 said:
Sorry, I should say this is still FM21!
Yeah, as Johnny said already - it should work fine. I used a very similar setup myself as Wrexham in FM21.
Try bumping your DL to Standard to be more compact and do not invite too much pressure. If your defenders are slow and you are afraid they might be exposed by balls over the top you can try setting one of them to cover.
0 -
As I myself am struggling to construct a consistently working, solid defensively, counter-attacking system in this year's FM (haven't had any issues last two editions) I'm also interested in hearing what other suggestions people may have.
Regarding your roles and duties I don'see any glaring issues. Maybe try switching one of the defenders to a BPD since you are playing without a PM. Maybe add some PI's to one of the CM's to take more risks and more direct passing instead.
Lower defensive line from my personal experience is just asking for trouble. From what I've seen in the match engine it's just too deep. Your team will have to practically the entire length of the pitch to work through after recovering the ball.
But as I said at the beginning, I'm also struggling with counter attacking setups this year
0 -
22 minutes ago, the SLC said:
I played a few friendlies against really poor teams to increase moral then I played Blackburn away. A decent team but one I should win. Which I did!!
Looking at screen shots. It looks pretty good (I think) The idea was to sit deep and gain possession in my own half then surge forward to capitalise on all that vacant space.
Hey if it works - it works, congrats!
However, if you are interested in hearing another perspective, I can provide some thoughts as I've been playing with different versions of 442 for years.
- I would avoid setting both DL and LOE to lower as it might invite too much pressure and against better teams might be just making their job easier by allowing them to play closer to your goal. I would tick DL up once to provide defensive compactness, but would definitely observe the team out of possession on extended highlights next match.
- Setting up with attack duties on both wingers and fullbacks is something I would personally never do without having an all star defensive mid or playing with a deeper pivot (in the DM strata). Those players will get forward and they will leave acres of space on the wings. If the opposing team is playing with advanced attacking wingers they might shred you on the counter.
- Above point also brings the question of overlaps: there is no natural overlap set up by player roles and duties, so I'm not sure how it works in this year's match engin, but I could definitely imagine wide players getting into each others way instead of creating efficient overlaps. They will all try to get to the byline to cross, this might in fact overload the fullbacks, but also be a problem for your wide men to find the space they should naturally occupy since there is already a player there.
Match engine isn't perfect though, so some stuff just works. I personally would definitely not set up a soaking-up-pressure-442 like you did,
EDIT:
Also, keep in mind you are playing Man United and seen as favourites in like 90% of the games you play. This will have the opposition set up to defend (especially a team like Blackburn) and allow you time on the ball. From my experience with such a huge difference in quality of players, you can win with almost any tactic against AI.
I would watch a game on extended highlights with this setup against someone better than Blackburn, even a team like Leeds or Everton would be better test for your tactic.
0 -
Hello everyone!
Long time lurker, first time poster.
I've been playing FM for over a decade and I always naturally gravitated towards 442 and its diamond variations when building my own tactics. So this year, I wanted to do something different and attempt to build a 433 DM Wide, since I never actually used this formation before. I have to admit that I have been quite successful and am very happy with my main tactical approach. However, it turns out I need to reach out and ask for some help with setting up alternative versions of my main approach.
It's 2029 and I've established myself as a CL Group Stage / EL Knockout team. The issue is, that my main tactic is quite offensive and relies on increased ball possession, long strings of passes and switches of play.
This does not work well (or rather at all) against better, and of course, much better teams than us. I've been trying to build more defensive versions of my system, but so far whenever I've been outmatched in Europe I never seemed to be able to pull off an upset. From anonymous and toothless 0:3 lossess to Juve, Napoli, Atletico to absolute discombobulations: 11-1 loss to Bayern and 7-0 to Liverpool. I know my team is not even close to those giants with regards to the quality of players, but in previous FM's I was able to set up a defensive 442 that was very capable of pulling off an upset, with 433 I have issues.
This is my main tactic and how I set up in league and in Europe at home:
SpoilerSome info on how and why I set up like this:
- Hardworking players and fluid movement
- Overlap left & underlap right used to encourage forward movement from left wingback and mezzala (before this I've seen them moving too late/not eagerly enough, but that might have been an issue with players having poor mentals - anyway this works for me)
- Orthodox 2x CB(De) pairing - I want them to retain the ball and build up with short passes up field
- Wide - to encourage the ball being moved into wings, therefore stretching the center of the field for Mez, IW and DLF to exploit
- Positive mentality to make sure the team plays with intent and is on the front foot, I want everyone on the field to be involved in building up attacks and discourage backpassing / pointless retention
- Right wing: IWB(Su), Mez(At) and W(Su) is the trio from heaven. They work so well together, regularly overload the channel and pull defenders out of position. This is also my stronger defensively wing, I concede very few assits from that side.
- Left wing: IW(A) works as a forward, PI to Sit Narrow. WB(Su) provides overlapping runs and puts in crosses into the box. Rather standard set up.
- Central Midfield: I leave DM on a very generic role as this is specifically what I want him to do: everything. He has to shield and track runners in defence, tackle in transition and support teammates in build up phase, sometimes even score a banger. RPM(Su) is my main creator. I previously used an AP(Su) but I wanted someone with more emphasis on hard work and putting their shift in defence. Mezzala is at he moment my main goal scorer and star of the team, he assists, scores and is very effective in counter pressing, he is the one who usually knicks the ball away from opposing midfielders and intercepts passes tfrom defense to midfield.
- In Opposition Insctructions I tightly mark central midfielders and press wide (fullbacks and wingers), allowing opposition defenders some time on the ball - but leaving them with two options: pass to the wing where the receiver is immediately closed down, or to attempt to progress through the middle where opposing midfielders are tightly marked and would receive the ball under pressure.
- The only issue I have in this setup is the role of my striker. I used everything from Advanced Forwards (they were too isolated), through False 9s (we were lacking teeth), Target Men (too direct) and ended up using rather not-sexy DLF(A). He occupies the right spaces and works well with teammates during build-up, just doesn't score much - best striker in the league netting only 14 goals a season is below expectations.
Now, to the main point: the away set up against bigger teams. I have two versions, that pretty much do the same thing (and both don't really work).
What I want to achieve with those away set ups:
- Do not divert far from roles in main tactical set up. DM(Su) becomes DM(De), not Anchor. RPM(Su) becomes DLP(Su) and so on. I have a very balanced squad built for my main tactic and want my starting eleven to be able to transition into a defensive approach almost seamlessly.
- Be compact in defence, explode and expand in transition to attack, flood with numbers. But as soon as the counter fails - Regroup.
- Do not press high, but press more aggressively when the lower LOE is passed.
- Cut off passing lanes, force the opposition to attempt difficult passes to bypass my block
- Force the opposition to resort to low xG chances and set pieces. Do not allow balls in behind and dangerous crosses into box. This is why I'm still pressing wide players here in OI's (same as in main tactic)
- I don't want to set the mentality to higher than Balanced as this should be a defensive version of my main approach and having both of them on high mentality would break my immersion a bit
4141:
Spoiler433:
SpoilerCan you please provide some feedback and guidelines on how to set up away from home in Europe and overall against better teams?
Problems with these set ups:
- Very few chances created
- Very few (or none) highlights with counterattacks for my team
- Very high xGA
- Very high number of conceded goals
- All variety of condeded goals (long shots, crosses, dribbles)
- Assists conceded in all areas of the defensive 3rd
I will appreciate any input
0
Football Manager 2024 Official Feedback Thread
in Football Manager General Discussion
Posted
Mr. Fr0ufrou above summed up how I feel about the state of the game perfectly, but I'll add some feedback anyway to (hopefully) try to get the point across to SI.
This is the first time in years that I've decided to not staight-up buy the game and instead try it out through Game Pass and I'm really disappointed to say that I have already uninstalled it.
All those fancy approaches of compressing space, trying to bait the teams into press, playing a mid-block, is nothing more than placebo that sometimes works, sometimes it doesn't.
Even the 'OP gegenpress' is suffering from poor implementation of the pressing system, as someone earlier in the thread pointed out. I'm still not sure how to actually get the team to press as a unit, no real way to set up zonal pressing. Like how do I tell my team to compress the space the opposition plays in instead of individually running at opposition players? How do I tell them which specific passing lanes to block?
All in all, yeah it's only a game, not an accurate representation of real life football. But is it really the best SI can do after 20 years of iterations?
I work in the game industry myself and one my favourite takes from a game designer was: "Iteration without innovation is just a waste of resources". And I firmly believe that's what we have here with FM: small iterations without real innovation. The MVP - minimum viable product.